It is the nearest planet to be found beyond our own solar system. Astronomers have found a planet orbiting a star close enough to be seen with the naked eye. It is the nearest planet to be found beyond our own solar system. The planet is about the size of Jupiter, the biggest of the nine solar system planets, and brings to 42 the number of planets known to be orbiting distant stars.A team of researchers discovered the existence of the planet by observing the minute "wobble" of its star, Epsilon Eridani, as it was pulled back and forth by the planet's gravitational field.Epsilon Eridani, which frequently features in science fiction stories, is just 10.5 light years away - meaning that it would take 10.5 years to reach it travelling at the speed of light - which is relatively close in astronomical terms.It might even be possible to use the Hubble space telescope to see the planet directly, which would be a milestone in the search for extrasolar planets similar to Earth that are capable of supporting life."Detecting a planet orbiting Epsilon Eridani - a star very similar to our own sun - is like finding a planet in our own backyard," said William Cochran, an astronomer at the University of Texas in Austin, who led the investigation."Not only is this planet near by, it lies 3.2 astronomical units [297m miles] from its central star, roughly the distance from the sun to the asteroid belt in our own solar system," he said.The planet is, like Jupiter, a "gas giant" and is unlikely to be suitable for life."It has a highly eliptical orbit, meaning that temperatures might vary widely in its seven-year journey around Epsilon Eridani, the fifth brightest star in the constellation Eridanus," Professor Cochran said."The exciting thing about this discovery is that having a large planet orbiting fairly far out from Epsilon Eridani means there could be room for Earth-like planets in a reasonably stable orbit closer to the star."The discovery is expectedto be announced at the general assembly of the International Astronomical Union, which meets in Manchester on Monday.The astronomers found the planet using data sets from four different telescopes with three different measuring techniques, so they are confident of the results.Because Epsilon Eridani is so bright and one of the 10 nearest star systems, it is easily detectable even without a telescope, Professor Cochran said. "You can go outside at night and point at it and say, 'That star there has a planet around it'," he said.. The News of the World was forced into a humiliating climbdown last night as it ended its campaign of "naming and shaming" paedophiles. The News of the World was forced into a humiliating climbdown last night as it ended its campaign of "naming and shaming" paedophiles. The decision to abandon its pledge to identify up to 110,000 child sex offenders followed strong criticism from the police, politicians and children's charities. The publication of 82 names and photographs of convicted paedophiles has led to a spate of violent demonstrations and innocent people beingdriven from their homes.The worst of the vigilante violence erupted on Thursday night in Portsmouth when a mob of 150 people wrecked the empty flat of a named offender, set fire to a car.At least six people with the same names or appearance as offenders identified by the newspaper have been wrongly targeted by vigilantes.TheNews of the World said it would continue its campaign for a public register of sex offenders.

The paper said the "For Sarah" campaign, named after the murdered eight-year-old Sarah Payne, was intended to ensure "controlled access" to the information.The decision to end naming and shaming is an embarrassing blow for the newspaper's new editor, Rebekah Wade, who has received death threats over the campaign. The paper's managing editor, Stuart Kettner, said: "There have been a number of threats to members of staff ... We have taken extensive security measures."Putting a brave face on theU-turn, Mr Kettner said: "We are delighted to announce that the News of the World campaign for Sarah's Law, to protect children from paedophiles, has today received whole-hearted backing from the principal agencies involved in child protection Accordingly ... we have decided to discontinue the naming procedure under which we identified, with photographs, convicted paedophiles in the newspaper."Mr Kettner denied suggestions that the campaign had put children at risk and said those adults who have been wrongly attacked were mistakenly identified "They were not identified in the newspaper. Nevertheless, of course we regret anything that happened, particularly since, from the beginning, we emphasised that law and order should prevail."Sarah Payne's parents, Michael and Sara Payne, declared their support for the move in a statement. "We support the News of the World's decision to discontinue the naming procedure...

while we fight together to bring this change in the law."Police chiefs pointed out that they already give out names and address of some offenders to local authorities.Tony Butler, the spokesman on sexual offences for the Association of Chief Police Officers and the chief constable of Gloucestershire, said: "We have not made a song and dance about it, but we do put that information into the public domain."Paul Cavadino, of the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders, said: "The naming and shaming campaign has contributed to an atmosphere in which lawlessness has flourished, innocent members of the public have been targeted by vigilantes and offenders have gone to ground. It has done considerable damage and subjected some unfortunate members of the public to terrifying ordeals."Gill Mackenzie, of the Association of Chief Probation Officers, added: "We are delighted that the campaign is ceasing. We and the police are committed to moving forward in making practical developments for the protection of children.". Broken glass, debris and the burnt-out shell of a car symbolised the arrival of vigilante rule to the streets of Britain yesterday. Broken glass, debris and the burnt-out shell of a car symbolised the arrival of vigilante rule to the streets of Britain yesterday. A fortnight of anger, frustration, and sensational headlines reached a climax when a crowd of 150 people attacked the home of a convicted paedophile.

Victor Burnett, 53, a former taxi driver convicted in 1989 for his part in a paedophile ring which abused more than 140 children, had been "named and shamed" by the News of the World.He narrowly escaped becoming the first casualty of a population, whipped into near hysteria, which has been prevented from causing any serious injury, or even death, more by luck than judgment.For many of the protesters on the Paulsgrove housing estate in north Portsmouth, the violence was an acceptable deterrent to would-be sex abusers. "They should be burnt alive," said Mary House, 48.Angela Withers said: "If we mothers had got hold of him last night he would not have walked again", while Jackie Rampton, 32 - who had brandished a "Get Them Out" placard - said: "A life for a life. When he abused those children he [in effect] took away their lives. He should have his life taken."Nearby, a small blond girl took up the chant "burn him, stab him, kill him" without any remonstration from the adults.Claire Shaw, 23, who has two children, said: "We don't want to be arrested but we have to protect our children.

My children come before a criminal record."Bill Edwards, 37, agreed with the women "It's going to happen here again. We just don't want them in Paulsgrove." Pointing out that there were three schools within yards of Burnett's home, he said: "Why put him here. It's like pleasure island for him with all these kids."While condemning the violence, Elizabeth Pescops, the headmistress of St Paul's Roman Catholic Primary School, agreed. "I'm against them placing someone like that in an area so close to so many schools. There are 3,000 children within a very close area of where he was living."But it is not just the guilty who have had to live in fear of the lynch mob mentality. In Scotland, London, and Manchester in the past fortnight, men who were unlucky enough to share the same surname or appearance as those featured among the convicted paedophiles printed in the News of the World have also become victims of the mob.Houses have been vandalised, innocent people terrified and abused, and at least two families have had to move out under police protection.The latest innocent victim of vigilante action was Victor Terry, 78, when a series of poison-pen letters were delivered to addresses throughout London and the home counties.The cheap white envelopes carrying the words "To Whom it May Concern" looked harmless when it dropped through Mr Terry's letterbox But within seconds it had turned his life upside down. It was one of more than a dozen sent to his neighbours in a cul-de-sac in Croydon, south London, branding him a paedophile.The single piece of paper inside informed residents that Mr Terry, a retired ambulanceman, had been found guilty of molesting two young boys.